Utter Silence
by alyssialui
Summary: Hermione finds out about her fiancé's infidelity on the day of her wedding. Heartbroken, she runs off into the forest and eventualy finds peace. AU.


_A/N: __Hermione finds out about her fiancé's infidelity on the day of her wedding. This is written based on a pic for Art Club, which gave me a feeling of peace and tranquillity, but also a feeling of silence. __RxR. FxF. _I do not own Harry Potter.__

_Submission for:_

_****Hogwarts Fair 2014 Challenge/Competition: ****Niffler Lucky Dig_

_**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft &amp; Wizardry (Challenges &amp; Assignments): **Art Club Round 3. Category: Art. Prompt: water, peaceful, tranquillity_

_**One of Every Letter [Challenge]: **U_

* * *

Hermione gazes from behind her thin veil at the man she would share the rest of her life with. He has shaven for the occasion but his smooth skin is already sporting a thin layer of stubble. She can't help but fall for him all over again as he stands beside her, smartly dressed in a black tuxedo, black polished shoes and a blue tie to match her bridesmaids' dresses and the blue ribbon tied around her waist.

Everyone had been waiting for this union. They had been friends for years and neither one had known about the other's feelings. But it became apparent when Ron first started seeing Lavender. That green eyed monster coiled within her chest and strangled her heart every time she saw them together. And despite how horrible it may sound, she was happy when they broke up.

The congregation watches in awe as they exchange vows. Ron pours out his love for her in his own words, his heart exposed for friends and family to see just how much he loves this girl. Tears are in Hermione's eyes and she hastily wipes them away before she says her own. She returns his love and promises to love him everyday for the rest of their lives. She can see the emotion in his face as well and she knows this is meant to be.

They join hands and the minister asks if anyone has any opposition to the union. It's just a formality really. This church is packed with family and friends. Everyone one here wishes them well and after the evidence of their love, no one would oppose.

A female's voice cries out just as the minister is about to continue the proceedings. Everyone swivels in their seat to the entrance of the church. The couple parts slightly, staring over their joined hands and down the aisle towards the voice.

A woman appears, sprinting down the aisle with tears running down her. Her heels make tracks in the carpet runner as she nears the couple and Hermione suddenly recognizes her. The thick blonde hair, those brown eyes, her round wet cheeks: Lavender Brown.

She stops before the couple, almost throwing herself at their feet. Hermione's eyes shift from Lavender's distraught face to Ron's now panicked one.

Before Hermione could say a word, Ron grabs her arm and faces her back to the minister. He waves a dismissive hand at the girl's prone form over his shoulder, warning his bride about this intruder's ill will.

The broken girl cries her groom's name from the floor, her hand reaching out towards him but the other clutching her stomach. Hermione looks around, unsure of what to do with a crying girl in the middle of wedding. Thankfully, two of her best friends move from their positions in the wedding party to help. They pull the blonde girl to her feet, but she is barely standing, putting almost all of her weight on Harry.

They both look up at Hermione and Ron for answers on what to do next for the girl hasn't stopped sobbing. Hermione is concerned but Ron commands her to stop embarrassing herself and leave.

But Lavender cannot leave, not when the father of her unborn is about to marry another.

The church is silent, a hush falling over the soft murmurs and gossip of the crowd. Hermione's jaw falls open. Harry and Ginny are torn between comforting the women and hurting Ron, but the disappointment is clear on their face. No one saw this coming.

But Ron probably did. Ron is glaring angrily at the girl on the floor, as if it is all her fault that his life is now ruined. His eyes travel upwards to the girl in white beside him.

He reaches out to take her hand but she leans away quickly. Tears well in her eyes and she tries vainly to blink them away. Her mouth opens, emitting gasping noises that she can barely stifle with her hands. The question is obvious and it lingers in the air as everyone waits for the groom's answer. But he says nothing, he doesn't have to. The guilt is apparent in his face and his eyes. The truth is apparent in the girl's sobs and the slight curvature of her abdomen. The shock was apparent is on everyone's face that something like this could happen to the couple that was meant to be.

Hermione throws her bouquet into Ron's face, her own sobs mixing in with Lavender's, before stepping off the altar.

Ron calls her name desperately but she doesn't stop. The guests rise from their seats with concern but she doesn't stop. She can hear footfalls behind her but she doesn't stop. She just keeps running for the great big doors at the end of the aisle.

The doors burst open, her name spilling out into the breeze wafting through the quiet woods surrounding the church. They are surrounded by colour of reds, yellows, oranges and browns, for she thought it would be lovely to have a Fall wedding. But now there is no wedding. All those people who came to watch her, to share what should have been a happy day, have now seen her at her lowest moment.

Two voices call out her name, none of them belonging to the one to blame, and she can tell they are close. They will look at her with pity in their eyes, offering wise words of comfort, but she can't take that right now. She needs to be alone to lick her wounds, for the man she once loved just ripped out her heart in one go.

She cuts left into the dense trees and out of sight, her white dress trailing through the fallen leaves on the ground. She rips the white veil and tiara off her head, her painfully beautiful bun unravelling with the tug. This whole thing was a sham. She had never felt so foolish in her life. She had believed all those pretty words he had just vowed. He vowed to never hurt her, he vowed that he would love her and her alone. But then a sobbing Lavender shows up, revealing to everyone that he had cheated on her, and he is to be a father.

She stumbles blindly, her tears obscuring her vision but she keeps running, putting as much physical distance between her and where her life ended, but knowing that she could never outrun the emotional pain.

In her distress, she does not see the exposed root in her path, or the lake beyond. She does not see as her foot snags on the obstacle, causing her to fall forward. But she feels herself tumbling down the slight slope, unable to right herself. And she feels as her body plunges into the cold lake.

There is first a feeling of panic. Water rushes into her lungs through her open mouth as she sinks, the cold water setting fire to her nerves from the inside and out. Below her all is dark, the floor of the lake just out of sight or bottomless as far as she is concerned.

But then an equilibrium is reached. She has stopped sinking and now floats in a state of limbo between the light from above and the darkness below, simply existing. The water pushes around her head, creating a vacuum where no sound can enter. Hermione is truly alone down here and it doesn't feel as scary anymore. She finds that she is at peace.

Her dress ghosts around her like a transparent jellyfish caught in the currents, illuminated by the hazy light from above. She swipes her hands through the gauzy white fabric, swirling it around her body in waves. It moves in slow motion with such ethereal beauty that she can't help but be amazed.

The tranquility of this underwater kingdom calms her down, her thoughts as far away from the world as possible. Here, no one can hurt her. Here, no one can make her cry. Here, she is at peace.

Her chest starts to hurt and her ears start to pop, the only sound she's heard in what seems like forever. She knows her stay here is to come to an end. She must leave this place and return to one full of sadness, disappointments and lies. But after the time spent in her peaceful, watery silence, her heart feels lighter and her mind clear. She feels as if she can face this problem head on. She feels that she can move forward with her life.

Hermione kicks her legs and swims towards the light beyond the surface.


End file.
